Seamless pipe prices in the UAE have been under severe pressure in the past month and are expected to tumble further for want of demand amid uncertainly in the market and decreasing global levels for metal products. Chinese suppliers have put downward pressure on the market with their lower quotations, forcing most other foreign suppliers to reduce prices.
Chinese suppliers have decreased their seamless pipe prices for the UAE by $30-50/mt over the past month due to weak demand in export markets and lower round billet prices in the Chinese market. Ukrainian and Russian suppliers have been obliged to follow the downward trend of Chinese material and have cut their seamless pipe offers for the UAE by $65-100/mt over the period under review. Quotations for Romanian seamless pipes have declined by $130-150/mt over the past month. Seamless pipe offers from top-tier producers from Argentina (Tenaris) and Japan (Sumitomo) have remained at previous levels.
In particular, import offers of Chinese seamless pipes 2"-8" grade B made to ASTM A106/API 5L are being given to the local UAE market at $870-900/mt C&F, while 10"-14"" pipes are priced at around $915-950/mt C&F. Seamless pipes from China 1"-1 ½" grade B made to API 5L are quoted at around $1,050/mt C&F, while quotations of ½"-3/4" seamless pipes are at $1,200-1,250/mt C&F.
Quotations of Ukrainian (Interpipe) seamless pipes 2"-6" grade B made to ASTM A106/API 5L are at $1,035-1,050/mt C&F. Offers of similar pipes with 2"-8" diameter from Russia (TMK, Volzhsky) are being given to the UAE at around $1,080-1,100/mt C&F.
Seamless pipes from Romania and South Africa (ArcelorMittal) 2"-6" grade B made to API 5L are quoted at around $1,170-1,200/mt C&F Dubai.
Italian seamless pipes from Tenaris and Japanese seamless pipes from Sumitomo 2"-8" grade B made to ASTM A106/API 5L are being quoted to the UAE at $1,440-1,450/mt C&F, while prices of 10"-12" seamless pipes are at $1,300-1,350/mt C&F. Offers for 14"-16" seamless pipes from the same producers are at $1,400-1,500/mt C&F, while quotations for 18" size are at $2,450/mt C&F. Quotations of 20" seamless pipes from Italy and Japan are at $2,500/mt C&F, while 24" pipes are being given to the UAE at $2,590-2,600/mt C&F. Quotations of seamless pipes from France and Germany (V&M) are at the same price level as the Italian and Japanese material.
Market insiders do not expect any surge in seamless pipe demand in the coming summer months, when demand is usually sluggish. However, this year in the UAE (mainly in the Abu-Dhabi emirate) a number of large projects is expected to get underway, in particular, the construction of a nuclear power station and the 342-meter skyscraper of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. Perhaps, a considerable growth in demand for steel products may be assumed as compared to last year in the region as a whole; however, demand is not likely to reach pre-crisis levels - principally because of the relative weakness of the Dubai market.